The real costs of clean energy and technology - Part 1: my battery needs cobalt and lithium

Can you be a hippy, Earth loving, environmentalist and use modern technology?

Figure 1: This AK-47 helped bring this post to you. Indirectly of course, but I am writing this on a device that has cobalt in the battery that perhaps came from this mine. Does the mining practices here look safe? Or fair? How do you feel about your computer you are reading this on having components from this mine?

Part I: Power up me battery, I need power to write this post.

So thinking about the total costs of energy and technology, "clean" or otherwise (perhaps coal) is important.

A post by @procrastilearner (with associated comments) got me thinking.
https://steemit.com/technology/@procrastilearner/the-technological-features-of-a-post-oil-city#@snowyknight/re-toddrjohnson-re-procrastilearner-the-technological-features-of-a-post-oil-city-20180616t165858655z

The discussion there went into the end of oil and coal and future technologies. New "clean" technologies are often proposed to be the answer to how we can save the planet.

Stop driving our petrol (gas)-fueled cars, trucks, and bus, and lets use clean electric cars that are powered with batteries.

But where did the batteries come from?
What is in these batteries?
What are we using to power these batteries when we plug them in?

Lithium-ion (Li) batteries (LIB) are awesome. Generally stable, but not always, hold a long charge and keep our devices going (iphones) but these all require mining. Geologists to find and constrain the resource, engineers working with these geologists, to make the areas safe for the miners to work in and design the extraction of the deposits. Science and Engineering helps society to do this in efficient and safe ways. Laws in these areas make sure that the land and the people working in these areas are protected. If of course those laws exist and if there are people to enforce these laws and consequences.

Lithium Ion Batteries (LIB) do not grow on trees.

Figure 2: I don't see any trees here. Just the second largest lithium mine in the world in the Atacama desert of South America. Lithium from here is perhaps allowing you to read this post in the comfort of wherever you are reading this.

They (these batteries) were assembled in a factory by people and machines using components that were extracted from the Earth via mining. Most Lithium ion batteries are lithium cobalt oxide (LiCo02). So Lithium and Cobalt and Oxygen more or less. But how do we get this?

Getting back to Figure 1, here is a photo of a cobalt mine, with cobalt being part of the cocktail required to make these batteries. I am not pointing fingers, everyone in this photo is doing their job, children, guards, etc. Most are likely grateful to have a job. Africa can be a beautiful but harsh place. Creating a safe and healthy workspace for adults is something that is a product of Industrial Revolution and some major struggles. This should not be taken for granted as these conditions were won. But the outcomes of this revolution has not hit all parts of Earth (hence photo 1). Yet...

Part II: So what are the real costs of energy and technology?

So batteries are cool. I can write this away from direct power as long as my LIB has power. Let's say I charged my battery with a solar system. Sun powering up another battery that I charge my device into and recharge from. Clean energy right? Sun straight into the lithium ion battery and keeping me charged and happy and writing this. Much better than getting this power straight from a dirty coal power plant, or perhaps a hydro plant that flooded that beautiful valley you could formerly pick wildflowers in?

So what is the real cost of this post? Or my phone? Or my computer?

Shall we calculate and include all of these costs and include these parameters and bring these into our decisions?

Perhaps math can help us:

Perhaps:
clean solar energy (CE) + (human exploitation to get the colbalt) <
dirty coal power (DCP) + rules and regulations to keep workers and environment safe.

I don't know. What do you think?

Possible solution: Blockchain source to consumer tracking

Perhaps consumers could make informed decisions with devices that have a full source to consumer tracking of all components (including labour) which is then registered on the blockchain. Basically from the mine (the Earth) to the refinery, to the factory to the store (online or otherwise) in which the product is obtained.

Company A uses unsafe practices to mine Lithium and Company B doesn't. By checking the blockchain that tracks the life cycle of the product, the consumer, us, can then perhaps decide to not buy or support a product from a company that is producing things in a way we are uncomfortable with. Food for thought. I think this is a logical outcome and good use for the blockchain. Cradle to grave blockchain tracking.

Would this work? Do people even care? The costs of things, of course will go... ha, not down but up! Are you willing to pay?

A final Hiaku (perhaps @haikubot will see):

Lithium cobalt keeps me cruising on today. But what are the costs?

Or in classic format:

lithium cobalt
keeps me cruising on today
but what are the costs

End of Part 1 because my battery needs charging...

References:
Figure 1) Photo from: https://www.change.org/p/amnesty-international-australia-congo-dong-fang-mining-company-in-the-drc

Figure 2) Photo from: http://www.mining.com/chile-argentina-lead-lithium-output-growth-2018/

original content copyright @snowyknight